NAACP Wants Audit of Texas Voting Machines After Vote Switches

Some Texans trying to vote for Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke have seen their selection switch to Republican Senator Ted Cruz. The NAACP is urging Texas' Secretary of State to do more to ensure the machines have not been targeted by malicious actors.

The NAACP is urging Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos to ensure Hart eSlate electronic voting machines in the state are not compromised following concerning reports about people's midterm election votes being switched.

"In the past week, we have received reports from individuals and voter advocacy groups that some Texas voters attempting to cast a straight-ticket ballot for the Democratic Party on Hart eSlate machines have seen their selection for U.S. Senator switch at the last moment to the candidate for the Republican Party," the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Texas State Conference of the NAACP wrote in a Tuesday latter to Pablos.

In other words, some Texans trying to vote for Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke have seen their selection switch to incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz. The NAACP added that it has not received any reports of this happening to voters attempting to cast a straight-ticket ballot for the Republican Party.

The civil rights organization is now urging Pablos to "take immediate action" to ensure the machines are functioning properly and have not been targeted by malicious actors aiming to interfere with the election.

The NAACP's letter comes after Pablos last week acknowledged the issue but said it was not the result of a malfunction, and that the machines are not randomly switching votes. In an Oct. 27 advisory to voters and election officials, Pablos said his office is aware of the problem occurring "less than 20" times during the first week of the Early Voting period.

"In each case, these voters were able to properly review and cast a ballot that accurately reflected the choices they made," Pablos wrote. He went on to say that a 2016 examination of the machines in question indicated that "this phenomenon is caused by a voter taking an action on the machine before it has finished rendering all the choices resulting from the voter's straight-party choice."

He recommended voters wait at least three to five seconds for their choices to be rendered on the machine when voting a straight-party ballot. Voters should then review their choices, and ask for assistance if they encounter any problems.

The NAACP, meanwhile, is not satisfied with Pablos' explanation and guidance. The organization wants Pablos to set up an emergency task force – "comprised of an equal number of members from the major political parties" along with Texas voter advocacy organizations – to inspect and audit a sample of the Hart eSlate machines in counties where the issue has been reported.

About the Author

Angela has been a PCMag reporter since January 2012. Prior to joining the team, she worked as a reporter for SC Magazine, covering everything related to hackers and computer security. Angela has also written for The Northern Valley Suburbanite in New Jersey, The Dominion Post in West Virginia, and the Uniontown-Herald Standard in Pennsylvania. She ... See Full Bio

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